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Interview with Elisa Bonizzoni

Our column dedicated to crucial interviews continues 🙂 Today we interview Elisa Bonizzoni. A psychologist “on loan” from the world of marketing and communication, she has been working on spreading a culture of acceptance and appreciation of diversity since 2009.

The issue of non-discrimination in the workplace has been included in many company policies for some time now. Despite this, its application sometimes remains only in principle: what do you think are the steps to be taken to move from theory to practice in the company?

I will probably be repetitive in this interview, but for me the first and indispensable step is training. First of all, employees need to be trained on what it means to discriminate and the mechanisms and forms in which discrimination occurs and is perpetrated (some are more obvious, others more subtle). We run compulsory courses on safety at work, GDPR, IT tools… it is time that training on psychological wellbeing became the basis of being in the company.

Diversity is gaining a lot of importance within the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility choices: do you see a risk of “social-washing”? If so, how can you prevent the increased attention to the issue and its greater presence on online and offline channels from turning into “much ado about nothing”? 

Social-washing is certainly a risk to which companies are exposed if they do not adopt a coherent and all-encompassing approach to the world of diversity. It is a topic that is fortunately very much in vogue but, from what I observe, it is too often approached with incompetence or in a purely business-oriented way. Doing D&I in a company is a courageous choice that, in my opinion, must first of all give added value to employees and to the company culture; only then can it become a source of pride to be shown off to the outside world.

The different facets of the LGBT world are sometimes complex to grasp and many actors, unable to go into the subject in depth, prefer not to deal with it, or do so in a superficial way. In your opinion, how could the treatment of gender diversity be made more accessible and more precise in the world of media and institutions? 

The debate on these issues is very lively but often rambling. Fortunately, new realities are emerging almost daily that aim, among other things, to report on the LGBT+ world in a ‘comprehensive’ way. One of my favourites is QUiD (https://www.instagram.com/quid.media/) and it is a cross-media platform that, in their own words, tries to report on the LGBT+ world neither in the inaccurate, summary and often disrespectful way used by the mainstream media nor in the often particularistic and sometimes barely decipherable way of activist or specific news sites. If the ‘classic’ media and institutions were to take even a cursory glance at realities such as this, we would soon make giant strides. 

In your opinion, what are the first three steps to be taken in order to approach a more complete level of social maturity in the field of protection and enhancement of gender diversity?

The first step is the approval of the DDL Zan, an imperfect law which, however, fills an important gap in terms of protection. I think it is also necessary (which the law provides for) to introduce training courses in schools on affective education and diversity. Italy is one of the few countries in Europe that does not provide for anything systematic, running the risk of prejudices taking root irreversibly from a young age. Finally, the third step should concern companies, so that they become aware of the need to tackle D&I issues in a concrete way at various levels (recruitment, training, truly inclusive and egalitarian regulations, awareness-raising activities, etc.).

Could you name a person, a book and a film that you would recommend to those who would like to deepen their understanding of gender diversity and inclusion? 

Person > Valentina Dolciotti, founder of DiverCity (https://divercitymag.it/), perhaps the only Italian publication on D&I issues. I recommend following her on LinkedIn so as not to miss the round tables she organises.

Book > “Gli uomini mi spiegano le cose. Reflections on male oppression” by Rebecca Solnit. A book that deals very well with the phenomenon of mansplaining (i.e. the unsolicited and patronising explanations made by men to women). If you are a woman, it is almost impossible that you do not find yourself in one of the situations described.

Film > I would like to point out a TV series that is really worth watching: The Handmaid’s Tale. Despite narrating a dystopian future, it is distressing to recognise some traits of today’s society (obviously taken to the extreme). No spoilers though! 

See you next interview!